This is a great question that was asked by a Grade 3 student during an assembly!
The short answer is: no, you don’t need big muscles to throw a frisbee far. Let’s break it down into a few important parts:
1. Speed
The speed of the frisbee is one of the biggest factors in how far it will go. When you throw a frisbee, you’re trying to get as much speed as possible on it. But here’s the cool part: getting speed isn’t about having big muscles. Instead, it’s about how fast you can rotate your body and how quickly you can snap your wrist. If you can do this really well, you can throw the frisbee very fast—even at speeds over 80 miles per hour like I do!
2. Spin
Spin is another key to distance. When you throw a frisbee, you want it to spin really fast. The more it spins, the more it will glide through the air and the farther it will go. Spin comes from how strong your grip is and how well you can snap your wrist. While having some strength can help, having good wrist mobility (the ability to move your wrist easily) is just as important. This means even if you’re not super strong, you can still throw the frisbee far if you have good wrist movement.
3. Angle Control
Another factor is how well you control the angle of the frisbee when you throw it. This part is all about learning how the frisbee flies and adjusting to things like wind, elevation, and the height and angle of your release. This isn’t about strength at all—it’s about practice and knowing your frisbee.
Summary
Some of the best frisbee throwers in the world aren’t big and muscular. They can be tall and lanky or short and powerful. What they have in common is that they can generate a lot of speed and spin on the disc.
For example, I can throw a frisbee at over 80 miles per hour with a spin rate of more than 900 rotations per minute (RPM). That’s how I get a lot of distance and was able to set the Canadian Distance record with a throw of 712 feet (217 metres) and the Virginia States Distance Record with a throw of 636 feet (192 metres).
Check out the highlights from the 2023 United States Distance Championships, with some of the top distance throwers in the world!
So remember, you don’t need big muscles to throw a frisbee far—you need speed, spin, and practice with angle control. Keep practicing, and you’ll see your throws go farther and farther!
About Young Disc-Coverers: A Frisbee Q&A with Kids
Inspired by all of the great questions from kids over the years, I’m going to be creating a series titled: “Young Disc-Coverers: A Frisbee Q&A with Kids”. If you have a question you’d like me to answer, please Contact Me!